Volvo Construction Equipment showcased its ECR25 electric mini excavator at the Utility Expo 2021, giving customers the chance to test-run the zero exhaust, low-noise machine.
According to Ray Gallant, VP of product management and productivity at Volvo Construction Equipment, the ECR25 is fitted with lithium-ion batteries and one electric motor that replaces the diesel engine to power the hydraulics. The machine’s batteries store enough electric energy to power the ECR25 for up to eight hours in its most common applications, such as utility work.
"The power, the specs, and the feel of them is exactly the same as the diesel but without emissions, noise, or vibration," Gallant says. "They're very well accepted by the customers because at the end of the day, the customers are much more comfortable, well rested, because they're not fatigued by the environment around them."
The operating compartment is identical to the machine's diesel counterpart, with only a few slight differences to accommodate electrical elements.
"You have to allow the batteries to cycle up, you have to allow it to come to start and reboot in the beginning," he says. "But after that, it's instantaneous power and torque. When you engage a lever, it acts as a diesel machine that's fully rev'd up to high RPM."
Power and responsiveness is the same as a conventional diesel machine, according to Gallant. The same attachments are also available on both options.
"You have the hydraulic lines right out to the end of the boom," he says. "You can run a hammer, you can run a compactor, you can run different types of buckets...whatever you need to run as these machines as well."
ECR25 models also have onboard chargers that enable overnight charging adaptable to conventional household electrical systems. In addition, an off-board fast charger could be used to charge and would require a three-phase outlet. With the fast-charge options, the ECR25 can be at 80 percent power within one hour of charge time.
